Three Time's A Charm
by StarryDreamre
Summary: Three years after the fateful meeting of the Maitlands and a certain bioexorcist, life for the Deetz family is moving on smoothly and normally-or at least, as normally as possible considering they've got two ghosts living with them. But for a certain teenage girl with gothic tastes, things take a turn for the worst as her old nightmare returns to earth with some more new tricks...
1. Chapter 1 - Tests and Laws

**A/N: Hey there everyone! Well, this is my first official story, but I hope that fans of the original movie _Beetlejuice_ will see fit to like this as a possible sequel. Technically a sequel was supposed to be made, but wasn't due to conflict, and so that leaves the rest of us free to interpret a continuation in any way we please. I love both the character, the movie, and the TV series which followed, so the information which I'll be writing about is something that I know of.**

**In regards to storyline and characters, I will be basing everything as a sort of continuation point from where the movie left us off, . I won't give anything away about the plot-the summary does enough of that-but I will say that for anyone who isn't open-minded about couple-pairings and whatnot, you may not like this story.**

**Wish me luck, and enjoy!**

**~StarryDreamre~**

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Chapter 1 - Tests and Laws

Lydia Deetz wasn't exactly what you'd call a "smart" girl, but she was no dumbbell either. Her marks in school were usually at around a B+ average; however recently since graduating from Ms. Hady's School for Girls and moving on to Cohart Secondary School-a co-ed institution-her marks had significantly dropped, thus bringing her to a C average which she was not exactly proud of.

It was September, just the beginning of her first school year as a sixteen-year-old student, but based off of just the first two Math and English tests, she wasn't doing so well. Come the first of October, she would be faced with yet _another_ hardship of having to write a history test-one which, shamefully, she knew nothing about. History was just such a _boring_ subject that she couldn't bother to stay awake. Besides which, her father, wealthy businessman Charles Deetz, always emphasized that it was the future that mattered and not the past, so why should she bother filling her head with details of what was long gone?

When it came to schooling though, her father wasn't the one in charge. Her mother, long dead, obviously couldn't be in charge; and her stepmother, Delia Deetz, honestly couldn't be bothered. Strangely enough, it was her "stand-in parents", Adam and Barbara Maitland who occupied themselves with her education and future success. In all her years as a social outcast, it was only the deceased couple who now resided as ghosts in their house who didn't judge her for who she was or what her preferences were. For this, as well as for the continued support they gave her, Lydia loved them.

Not that she ever said it though; she wasn't one to voice her feelings out loud like that.

Even on the newly crisp autumn day as she biked her way home though, Lydia had to acknowledge that when asked about any developments, she would have to lie about them-again. Recently she had grown more accustomed to lying ever since the midnight seance that her friend Madeleine had invited her to at the graveyard-she thought Adam and Babs might be offended by that considering they were dead and all-and with each new lie she became better and better at being deceitful. She never felt _good_ about it of course, but it was better than getting in trouble for bad grades.

_I guess if I study and get an A, maybe I can tell them afterwards,_ Lydia reasoned, setting her bike aside in the garage and then rushing up the stairs into the old wooden house.

"I'm home!" she called, cascading in through the doorway.

"Hey honey, how was school?" the ever-faithful Babs was busy dusting as usual, whilst Adam sat in the lounge chair reading the local newspaper.

"It was fine."

"Anything new to report?" Adam asked, suddenly attentive. He was Lydia's main at-home tutor and was usually the one to study with her. He felt it odd that she hadn't asked for help yet, and had been meaning to have a talk with his wife about it, but the chance never came up.

Lydia shook her head. "Not really. Oh, wait! There is something actually." Digging through her bag, she pulled out a notice informing the parents/guardians about an upcoming Fall Festival which the school would take part in. Each class would have to contribute to making a float or something that represented the true meaning of autumn and what it stood for, but Lydia knew she would end up just cutting things or gluing something, so it didn't matter.

Apparently it did to the Maitlands though, who immediately got excited. "Oh honey, this is wonderful!" Barbara exclaimed. "I remember taking part in this when I was a little girl. It was so much fun!"

"My class's float took first place that year," Adam reminded her. "We had the best ideas back then! I can't believe they still do this. Hey, you think they'll need any help from the parents?"

Lydia couldn't help it. She gave a sarcastic smile-which was just about the only facial expression she could muster. "What do you mean help? You guys are ghosts, and no one can see you, so what's the point?"

This gave both Adam and Barbara pause. They didn't really take offense in her comment, but now they were starting to sense that something was wrong.

"Lydia, is-"

But Lydia was up the stairs and had slammed her door shut before they could comment anything else. The Maitlands turned to face each other, a similar look of worry on their face.

Something definitely _was_ wrong.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the land of the dead, a certain white-haired, beetle-eating, dirty-jokester was held up in the waiting room for the third time that month, waiting to meet with his lawyer. His head now back to it's original size-no voodoo could keep _him_ down for long-our troublemaker maniac had plenty of other problems on his mind.

Namely, just how he was going to get out of this scrape.

Needless to say, in the time since his encounter with the Maitlands, he had been held up in varying places, all the while trying to keep away from the law-and Juno who was the head of the hunt-and once again had gotten caught and was now in trouble.

_Wonder if this guy'll be any good,_ the bioexorcist wondered as he was called into the office. He's need a _really_ good deal to get out of his latest scrape, and a cheap one too. Out of all the things he couldn't configure for himself, money had to be one of them!

"Howdy there!" he exclaimed as he walked into Mr. Pimplegrove's office. He leaned back in one of the guest leather chairs and immediately put his feet up on the lawyer's desk without any regard for hygiene. Manners were never his strong point anyway.

Mr. Pimplegrove, a man with a skull-head who obviously _had_ no actual pimples, cleared his throat and began sorting through papers. "So then, Mr. Beetle-"

"You don't really wanna say my name now, do ya?" his client tempted. "Cause if you do, I'm outta here and in the human world. I don't think any of y'all want that."

Mr. Pimplegrove cleared his throat again, obviously nervous despite his stoic face. "Well then, _sir_, I understand you want me to take on your latest case. Let's see here...you are charged with theft of a vehicle, destruction of public property and..." If a skull could've blushed, Mr. Pimplegrove would have at this point.

"Go ahead. You can say it," the white-haired adversary said with a grin.

"And peeping in the ladies' locker room. All very serious offenses, sir, especially when put together! Now then, if you wish me to take your case, I will need to know the full details."

It will forever remain a mystery what the accused _was_ going to say however, because at that point, none other than Juno walked in, cigar in hand and everything. Looking mighty important, she towered over the ghoul sitting in the chair and gave him a decisive glare letting him know what he was in for.

"Why, if it isn't my old employer!" the white-haired criminal chuckled with glee. "How've you been?"

Stalking past him, Juno stood alongside Mr. Pimplegrove on the other side of the desk. "I haven't come here to chat, but to inform you that any help you choose to seek at this point will be utterly useless. I have just spoken with the council and we've decided that this is the _last straw_. The _very_ last straw, mind you."

"So...I get time off for good behaviour?" the guilty ghoul guessed cheekily.

"As a matter of fact, you might say something like that," Juno replied, sitting in Mr. Pimplegrove's seat which he had readily emptied for her. "We've discussed a suitable punishment for your crime, and it will _not_ be a jail sentence in fact. You've gotten out of too many of those."

The jailbird shrugged. "Not my fault that your bars ain't enough to hold the juice in, baby!"

Sighing, Juno fetched a paper from her breast pocket and began to read it out loud. Only the last part is truly important though: "..and so, by the council's decree, Mr...well, you will be sentenced five thousand hours of _good deeds_ and community service on earth."

Suddenly the already-pale ghoul got paler still, especially once he saw how determined and serious his ex-employer was.

This fearful expression on his face lasted only for a second though before he began to laugh. "Ya know, I think I'm gonna blow this coup. Not really my style, ya know what I'm sayin?"

Just as he was about to leave though, at least five undead guards stepped in his way, blocking his exit. He snarled defensively.

"Nice try, but you're not getting out of this," Juno said. Taking out a metal anklet, she muttered a charm and transfigured it onto the guilty one's ankle. He was now officially on watch. "You just try getting out of that or out of your sentence and you see what happens," she said with a very satisfied smile.

"What did you do to me?" the trapped ghoul asked in an over-dramatic fashion.

"Oh now, it's what _you've_ done to yourself," Juno chuckled. "No matter what form you take or where you are, we'll know. And now, to business. Beetlejuice."

"Eeek! Stop that!"

"Beetlejuice."

"I said stop it, ya hear! One more time and I'll-!"

"Beetlejuice."

And then, whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to go. Just the echo of his name three times and...

WHOOSH!

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**A/N: Well, that's the first chapter folks! I hope liked it and if you did, please comment/favourite/follow for more! In the next chapter you'll be reading more about our beetle friend in the human world ;)**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Play and A Player

**A/N: Ok, so as promised, the second chapter is now out! Here we'll get a little better acquainted with our main characters and see just how the beetle-man fits in once he's in the human world. I think you'll be surprised at how things turn out. Enjoy ;)**

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Chapter 2 - A Play and A Player

The next day at school, Lydia found out what having a true dilemma really meant. With regards to the upcoming "float" that her class was supposed to make for the Fall Festival, it turned out that they weren't actually participating in that event at all.

"The committee wants to try something new this year, something fresh!" Mr. Liel, their teacher, lectured the students the next morning after handing out the notices. "As such, I've volunteered the idea that we put on a play instead."

He waited for the reaction to sink in, but no one was really all that excited about the idea of putting on a play. For some people, they may've secretly been relieved that they wouldn't be stuck doing construction work, but honestly, most people preferred it to being up on stage. Lydia, whose seat was in the third row from the back near the windows, didn't care one way or another. If they did a float, she'd paint the base or something; if they did a play, she'd work backstage on painting the sets or something. It all came down to the same thing.

"However," Mr. Liel continued, clearing his throat, "unfortunately, there are no well-known plays in this town which really take in the spirit of autumn, so instead it was suggested that we put on a _Halloween_ play instead. I have decided that we will be performing 'The Great Lady Camille', a classic known thriller play."

This had the majority of the class's attention. After all, a thriller, Halloweeny play was better than some rotten normal play any day! Also, almost everyone in town knew about the "Great Lady Camille" since their childhood and as such it was a well-known favourite. City-girl Lydia was possibly the only teenager who'd never heard of it before.

"Auditions will take place next week between our class and Mr. Shepard's class exclusively," Mr. Liel promised. "I expect everyone here to audition; and in order to ensure that, I've decided to mark it down as extra credit for anyone who participates and does well. After all, this is a paid-for event and the more enthusiastic people are, the more money we make for the school!"

Finally the Deetz girl was brought out of her daze. Extra-credit? Now _that _was something worth working for! Auditioning for a play? Well, Lydia didn't consider herself to be a good actress considering she had bailed out of lessons as a child long ago, but it wouldn't matter anyway what kind of performance she gave since she didn't want a part in the first place.

_More than likely I'll get to work backstage or something_, she concluded. In other words, things would still remain the same. All she had to do was memorize a few lines, show up to school one night, and then it'd be over. With that extra credit, maybe she could get her mark up to at least a B- and then Babs and Adam wouldn't be upset with her for lying.

It was an easy-out if ever she saw one. The only question was: would it work?

_Best to be on the safe side,_ she concluded as class was dismissed for the day. _I won't tell them until _after_ I get the marks..._

* * *

In an alley, near a street not to far from the Maitlands' hardware store-now old and abandoned for lack of a better description-a certain striped-suit individual practically catapulted down out of the air, landing with a crack on his tailbone, yet seemingly unhurt by his fall.

"That damn woman!" he hissed, shaking his fist at nothing in particular. "Could've at least sent me some dough to get me goin..." Lifting up his pant leg, he observed the anklet which, true to Juno's word, had not come off. Reaching down, he tried to touch it, but was greeted with a tiny sandworm about the size of his finger jumping out from an unseen lock and biting at him. He pulled his hand back just in time.

"Yeow! Sandworms! I should've known! Trust her to use my greatest enemies against me..."

Shuffling his hands in his pockets, the beetle-man stepped out of the alley, almost colliding with a fat woman carrying groceries. She shrieked at his appearance.

"EEK!"

Rolling his eyes, the ghoul put one hand to her mouth and thus rendered her mute without another thought.

"You sound better this way. I'm sure your family will thank me later," he chuckled, turning away from her and leaving her gaping like and idiot without a scream. After a short walk into a part though, he reconciled with the fact that maybe he _did_ look a bit out of place for human eyes. The Deetzes from a few years back hadn't been all too frightened of him, but that was after they'd seen the exorcism of two certain ghosts.

"Better turn up the juice on this one," the beetle-man decided, leaning into the shadows. When he stepped out again, he resembled a pale, rather uncouth youth with blonde hair, and wearing plain black clothes. His face was still somewhat the same, only much younger and cleaner in a way. He resembled something human enough, but his habits still remained the same on the inside. And, try as he might, the accursed anklet was still there.

"Right, so what am I here for again?" he wondered aloud as he crossed the park towards a more secluded street. It was at this point that he came across the Maitlands' hardware store, with the barber from before still sitting on a chair outside and muttering stories to someone who wasn't there.

"Maitlands, huh?" he mused, rubbing his stubble-free chin. "Now where've I heard _that _before?"

Just as he was thinking it over, a pair of teenage girls from Lydia's school came walking by, laughing at giggling at some unimportant joke.

"Well _hello_," the humanish ghoul greeted, his old habits dying hard. On earth, in the underworld, or wherever he was, he was still a playboy. "Goin my way?"

Charming as he may've tried to be though, he was still somewhat distasteful to the human girls. They didn't seen him as some suave mysterious goth boy, but rather as a dangerous guy they should stay away from. They both moved to the other side of the street, away from him.

The beetle-man shrugged it off, and fluffed his new leather jacket like it was no big deal. "Guess I'm not the charmer I used to be, but what can you expect in _this_ body?"

Suddenly he noticed another girl making her way down the street, this one on a bike. And although she wore the same school uniform as the other two girls, this one had something different and sinister about her; an air about her all her own.

"Oh, babe. I think I just got me my exit clause," he noted with a snicker as he watched her pass. "Think Edgar Allen Poe's daughter over there better finally come clean on what she promised me those years back. Don't know why, but I've also got around to missing those dope Maitlands too. Better stick around for a while as long as I'm here..."

No sooner said than done, and he vanished on the spot, intending to make his appearance at a later time.

As for Lydia, who was innocently plotting her way and scheming to get out of her grades-marks dilemma, she had no idea that soon, school would become the _least_ of her problems.

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**A/N: Not a lot, I know, but at least it's not a total cliffhanger, right?!**

**Well, I hope you also enjoyed this chapter and if so, please either follow/favourite, and don't forget to leave a comment! New chapters coming out soon!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Plays and Scares

**A/N: I can see that the second chapter did well with readers thanks to the first 3 reviews which I have officially gotten for this story! Thanks to the reviewers and especially sm4567 whose words of praise and encouragement are motivating me to write further! I can only hope that the third chapter will also meet with public approval, and, with that being said, here we go!~**

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Chapter 3 - Plays and Scares

Upon arriving home, Lydia immediately set to work upstairs, first with her homework and then with practicing potential lines for the play. She wasn't going to try out for the lead of course, but so far the character of "Camille", based on the script, was the only one which she could _remotely_ act out. The plot of the play had to be one of the worst she'd ever read, but apparently it was a county favourite so it wouldn't be wise to judge it.

The main character, Camille, was the daughter of a rich and handsome count who, after the death of his wife, had decided to plant a willow tree each year in her honor. Apparently the old countess had a thing for willow trees or whatever, but there wasn't really a point to them until the end of the story anyway.

For the main story, it focused on how Camille as a young maiden was being initiated into society through a series of balls in which her father tried to introduce her to eligible young men. The noble men all had some problem or other-one had no manners, another smelled unpleasant, etc.-and Camille didn't like any of them. But after running away from her third official party, she ran into a mysterious stranger who always wore a mask and never spoke so his identity was kept a secret.

After a short time, of course, Camille fell in love with him and ended up secretly marrying him with the permission of a reverend. The reverend's character was admittedly interesting-and even better than Camille herself-but Lydia knew better than to mock the school committee by trying out for a male role. Anyways, the count soon found out about the marriage and went mad with rage, eventually finding the man and killing him. Through a twisted turn of events, it is revealed that the stranger was actually Camille's long-lost _brother_ and he had been trying to save her the grief of marrying a man whom she didn't love.

The count, after finding out he killed his own son, killed himself as well. The last act took place after all of these deaths when Camille went to confess her sins to the reverend, who turned out to be aware of everything, and who advised her to become a nun in order to cleanse herself through faithful service.

Camille was a fairly selfish person though, so she knew she could never become a nun. In the very last scene, out of guilt, remorse, and self-loathing, she hung herself on the very first willow tree ever planted after her mother's death.

To be honest, Lydia didn't think that any of the play was that gruesome. In fact, it sounded just like a bad melodrama. But nevertheless, Camille was the only role she could play because most of the time she was described as being "unhappy" and "lamenting her life". Lydia wouldn't even have to act that out; she was never happy. Every other female role was either another rich girl, a servant, or the ghost of Camille's mother who confronts her only twice during the entire play. The ghost would've been ideal since her lines were short, but her character was described as "the gentlest and most beautiful creature on the planet".

Lydia would be a disgrace!

Sighing, the Deetz girl took out the script and began pacing her room, muttering the lines as silently and as unintelligibly as possible.

Suddenly, just as she was rounding up the first act, a gust of wind blew in through the window and blew the script right out of her hand.

_What the-? I could've sworn that window was closed_, Lydia thought, walking over to close it instead of picking up her script. Just as she had slammed it down though, she realized that the wooden frames handing made contact.

Instead, of all things, a _hand_ was blocking the way.

"YOUCH!" came a yell from outside.

Lydia shrieked and backed away from the window, her eyes wide. She would've been ready to make a run for it at any second, but then she heard commotion from the other side of her door. Instead of Barbara or Adam arriving first though, it was surprisingly Delia who showed up to see what was going on.

"Lydia! Oh goodness!" the red-haired woman exclaimed. "What happened? You scared me half to death, and I almost dropped my ashtray!" Delia Deetz wasn't a heavy smoker-especially not since she knew how much their ghostly roommates disapproved-but when sculpting, and stuck for inspiration, she had to have _something_ to calm her down.

Unsure what to do, her stepdaughter wondered if it would be wise to point out what she had seen. One look at her window told her that it wouldn't be smart; the hand was gone as if it had never been there and the window was closed. But Lydia _knew_ she hadn't imagined it. Would she had heard the scream so clearly if she had? Hallucinations weren't unlikely for the girl, but she _wasn't_ delusional!

"I-I'm sorry," she replied at last, stumped for what else she could say. Besides, even if she tried to tell Delia about it, she likely wouldn't be believed. Even after three years, the modern woman still had trouble believing that Adam and Barbara were actually ghosts, so why should Lydia scare her even more?

Delia soothed down her smart-looking black dress. "Well, since you're sorry, let's forget it then, hm?" She was about to turn and go, but then she spotted Lydia's discarded script on the ground.

"Oh, what's this?" she asked, going over to pick it up. "A play?"

Lydia didn't ever face-palm herself, but she just as well might've at this point. "It's for school."

"You school's putting on a play?" Delia mused. "How...quaint." Regardless though, she read through the title and the brief summary on the first page. "Sounds dramatic, dear. Are you going to be starring in this? It doesn't sound like you at all."

"It's for a good cause," Lydia muttered, trying unsuccessfully to snatch it away.

"Oh really? Does your father know."

"Well, he-"

"I'm sure he'll want to go see. It's so rare to have you out of the house, never mind participating in something...well, _normal_. I think we'd better share this with our little friends as well." Of course Delia meant Adam and Barbara. Not that she was out to get her stepdaughter or anything, but for once she had actually grown excited at the prospect of having Lydia do something. To claim that she was even remotely related to such a gothic teen was an embarrassment that Delia Deetz would simply _not_ bear!

"Wait, hold on a-!"

But Delia was already gone. Cursing silently in her head, Lydia had no choice but to follow her out the door and downstairs.

* * *

Outside, clutching his hand and over-dramatizing everything, a certain humanoid beetle-man was rolling around on the back lawn and yelling into open space.

"That little-! What does she-?! If I ever get my hands on her, I'm gonna-!" But for the time being, he could do nothing but clutch at his injured hand. Until that point he had left Lydia alone because he just didn't know how to approach her. Not that he had a problem with freaking her out or anything, but he wanted to make sure that the timing was right for a really spectacular entrance. She hadn't seen him in over three years after all, though it was doubtful she could _ever_ forget him anyway.

The biggest problem was that he _needed_ her one way or another to get him out of his fix with Juno. The old lady wouldn't like him trying the same trick twice to get out of the eternal limbo with the usage of his name and whatnot, but he had no choice. He didn't make the rules-as a matter of fact, he _still_ didn't have any rules-but he did had to follow them, unfortunately.

Sitting up, he began to scratch his chin deviously. "Can't go in there anyway," he reasoned. "Still got them Maitlands to deal with..." And he _was_ in a hurry after all. Things to do, people to see, trouble to cause, it was all too much for just one ghoul to handle! On the one hand he reasoned that he _should_ try figuring out just how to get that wretched anklet off, but then again, he wasn't keen on touching it.

And so instead, he began to think.

And think...

And think...

And finally the beetle-man had an idea. A fairly _awful_ idea which he was sure was bound to work. _May as well try it,_ he thought. _No one could resist me for very long and so many the _subtle_ approach is best this time..._

No sooner said than done, and he went about putting his plan to action. Suffice to say, a certain someone would get a _big_ surprise the next morning...

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**A/N: A bit longer than before, and hopefully enough to satisfy. Just as usual to the readers, enjoy! Please remember to review/follow/favourite! 3**


	4. Chapter 4 - Enthusiasm, Concern, and The

**A/N: Sorry for the later update of this chapter. Things have been a bit chaotic in RL lately, but for now they've settled down and I can continue updating. I'm glad to see that this story is getting its good share of reviews, but I would also like to see some follows/favourites soon. Also, even though I'm just beginning, I'm starting to get more confident with what I post and so, hopefully, more people will be responding to this soon.**

**As for this chapter, I can promise you that you'll be very surprised with just what is going to happen ;)**

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Chapter 4 - Enthusiasm, Concern, and Then Some

No sooner had Lydia arrived at the bottom of the stairs, but then she saw her guardians-all four of them-each eyeing her with a different expression on their faces. Delia was, just as before, still a little surprised but also smug that her stepdaughter was finally moving up in life. Her father was...well, stunned and continued to remain so until he could come to grips with the idea that his daughter was indeed the same one which he had raised and gotten used to, just more involved, it seems. As for Babs and Adam, their faces identically showcased all of the pride their already bore her increased _tenfold_. As such, they were also the first to stand up and pay her compliments.

"Oh honey, why didn't you tell us your class was doing this play?" Babs gushed, delighted. "This play is just the thing for you, especially as the Countess Camille herself!"

Lydia swallowed. "Well, I just thought you wouldn't be interested. It's technically a horror story and so-"

"We don't mind that kind of stuff anymore, Lydia," Adam assured her, cutting in. "I'm sure we've all had worse experiences in real life and this is just a play. Besides, they've been playing this every few years since before our time, so we already knew about it. I think it'd be a good experience for everyone to go."

"Exactly!" Delia enthused, smiling despite herself. Not so much for Lydia's sake of course, but for her _own_ sake and how much prouder and confident she could be inviting guests up if the play had a good effect on Lydia. It was about time to bring the girl "out of the shadows" and whatnot, after all... "In fact, I thought we might invite Otho here as a critic. He's gone into so many other professions since we've last seen him and he's been keeping in touch."

"Wonderful idea Delia," Charles agreed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "That'd be just the thing. This town needs some more publicity after all." Although the blonde businessman found that he didn't like Otho more often than not, he _was_ an entrepreneur and wanted to make the quaint little Connecticut town prosper. A local high school play might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but at least it was a start. Things had been quiet recently with his business exploits as well, so maybe Lydia's involvement in the school play was a good omen of some sort.

"It'll be perfect, I can tell!" Babs continued, as if not having heard the Deetzes and how they planned to use this to their advantage instead of simply cheering Lydia on. "I can help make your costume, and Adam can help you rehearse! Darling, you had a role in that play our last year of high school, didn't you?"

"I was the sheriff of the town," Adam replied proudly. "It wasn't the biggest role, but it still gave me plenty of experience with acting."

"I worked backstage that year," Barbara sighed dreamily. "It was just so fun and exciting to see how everything came out in the end?"

"Weren't you scared?" Charles joked, knowing how the old-fashioned ghost couple didn't go far beyond the conservative.

"A bit, but it was better knowing how all the effects were made instead of just how they turned out. It made it seem less real, I guess you could say."

"Oh Charles, I have it!" Delia exclaimed. "They'll need help directing that play. There's no way a quaint country schoolteacher will know anything about art, so of course they'll need advice. I've been thinking of getting involved with Lydia's school for quite some time, and this is it. I'll go right down on the day of the auditions and give them assistance."

"No!" Lydia exclaimed, horrified at where the conversation was going. She had kept quiet thus far, hoping to hide her true intentions and whatnot, but this was going just too far! If Delia was at the auditions, not only would she be humiliated by having her stepmother come to the school, but then _for sure_ she wouldn't be able to purposely fail and not get the role!

"Why not, pumpkin? It'll be just the thing you need to strengthen your mother-daughter relationship," Charles said with a smile. "One of these days you'll find you really need a mother and then-"

"No I don't, and even if I did, I don't want my _mother_ coming to the play as a director!" Lydia snapped.

Deli was not fazed in the slightest by this comment. She was a very ambitious and determined woman and would _not_ take no for an answer once she had made up her mind on something; and, to the highest extent, she had made up her mind on _this_.

"Lydia, there are no questions about it. I'm coming down to your school on the day of these auditions and pitching in. It's time this town got under proper management, wouldn't you say, Charles?"

Charles Deetz merely nodded and pecked his wife on the cheek. Unlike the Deetz couple who were oblivious to the objectionable look on Lydia's face though, the Maitlands noticed everything and eyed each other even more worriedly than before. Their excitement from earlier had immediately faded as they began to consider that maybe, just maybe, Lydia _wasn't_ all that enthusiastic about putting on a play.

After Lydia rushed back upstairs to her room, and the Deetz couple went their separate ways, the Maitlands sat down in the living room and began to think over the matter deeply. Barbara, as usual, was the first to break the silence.

"Adam, I don't think she wants to do the play at all," she announced. "In fact, for a while I know something's been bothering her, but she hasn't said anything about it."

"I know what you mean," Adam agreed, taking off his glasses for an unnecessary polish. "At first I thought it was nothing serious and that she would come to us about it when she was ready, but I'm not sensing that's going to happen anytime soon."

"Do you think she could be in trouble?" Barbara fidgeted worriedly.

Adam waited a long time before he answered, but in the end he could only shake his head a big dejectedly. "I hope not, Barbara. I hope not."

Needless to say, the Maitlands had intentions of getting themselves involved in this dilemma _very __soon_, whatever it was, but for now they wanted to go on trusting their foster daughter for a little bit longer in hopes that she would come clean about whatever was bothering her. Neither of them suspected that it would be over something as meager as school marks, but then again, Lydia was good at hiding things like that. In retrospect, their worries probably amounted to more problems than the girl had ever had before.

Well, for the time being anyway. As she was soon to discover the very next day, Lydia Deetz would have more to worry about on her mind than _ever_ before...

* * *

Waking up early and then leaving the house before her father or Delia were ever awake was easy enough to do. Lydia, contrary to expectations, actually did keep a bedtime and didn't stay up late into the night, but was actually an early riser. Things were quietest early in the morning when the world had yet to wake, and such were the times when Lydia went out to be alone. Some things had changed with her personality, but others hadn't; she still liked being alone more than anything else in the world.

Grabbing a granola bar and an apple juice box on her way out, the sixteen year-old made her way out the front door and down the hill towards the end of the Maitland-Deetz property. Closing the gate softly behind her, she made to cross the nearby bridge into town, when suddenly she felt a cold yet soft hand on her shoulder.

Lydia startled, but only a little; it was just Barbara.

"Hey honey. Going out early today?"

"Um, yeah. I wanted to go to the library before I get to class and they always open early hours."

Babs nodded understandingly, just as if this was an everyday routine. "So...about last night...you're sure it's no big deal or anything?" Try as she might not to go back on her promise with Adam, Barbara's maternal instinct had completely taken over last night, leaving her awake for hours wondering what Lydia's problem could be and how she could help. Her husband, though still as concerned as her, sometimes just didn't understand things the way that she did. When Lydia, or any daughter-like figure _needed_ something, Babs was sure to sense it. It called upon her like a _duty_ to try to help in that case, even if her help wasn't wanted.

"No, not really," Lydia replied nonchalantly, wondering what her ghostly guardian was talking about. Not that she was trying to be secretive for once, but her mind was honestly elsewhere.

Babs shook her head. "Well in that case, go ahead. Will you be home later today because of practice, or-?"

"Actually yes," Lydia said, sensing an opportunity to get away. She hadn't thought of it before, but it now seemed like a very good suggestion. "I think one of my friends might also want to try out and in that case she'll need someone to practice with. We can both use it, to be honest."

"Well then...good luck, honey."

"Thanks. Goodbye." And so, Lydia turned away without another word and ran down the road and away from the house towards the bridge where the Maitlands had met their end only a few years before. Every time she crossed it she wondered at how it must've felt for them to breathe their last-and how it would feel for _her_ if she got up the nerve to jump one day-but for once she ran through the darkened tunnel without another thought, desperate to get to school and get all thoughts and feelings of guilt out of the way.

For the first time ever since starting the charade, Lydia Deetz, the loner, the liar, and the cheater, was starting to have pangs of conscience.

* * *

Out of all the classes that she was "forced" to attend during her curriculum, History which also served as her homeroom was the ultimate worse. Unlike most high school when the classes switched and alternated according to teachers, the high school in Lydia's quaint little town worked very much in the same way as elementary schools, meaning that there were always the same set of people in the same classroom. Rather than have the students run around the halls in a frenzy, it was easier to just make the teachers run around, so it was a fair compromise. They got ten minute recesses to wander the halls between each class though, so the students got enough time to stretch their legs.

After the occurrences the very first thing that morning though, Lydia would need more than some fresh air to clear her head though.

The chief reason for this was because, no sooner had she walked into the room and taken a seat, but then she noticed a seemingly new student grinning _at her_ from the back of the class. He was obviously new, but he didn't act it: he already had a stack of books prepared and was relaxing by rudely keeping his feet up on the back of Eddie Walfort's chair. Eddie didn't seem to mind him much, but everyone was staring at him with a rather wary air.

Lydia had more reasons for staring though. Because there was _something_ about that guy...something about the white-blondeness of his hair, the paleness of his skin, and _especially_ that evil-looking smirk that seemed eerily familiar...

"Please rise," the history teacher, Mr. Wolt, drawled on from the front of the class. For some reason, he didn't seem to notice the new student, or was planning on introducing him after the anthem.

The latter option turned out to be the correct one.

_"...the land of the free and the home of the brave!"_

Everyone took their seats and then the new student proceeded confidently to the front of the classroom, giving Lydia a meaningful look as he passed by. It was all very well since the other girls had already gotten what they called the "X-ray treatment". As if they weren't creeped out enough already just by his appearance...!

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Wolt began, addressing everyone as if they were at an important assembly. "Today, as you can see, we have a new student in our class. Now, I know this doesn't happen very often, and a lot of you may already have your 'groups' settled, but please try to make our new student, er-"

"B.J." The boy at the front of the class flashed a yellow-toothed smile.

Mr. Wolt cleared his throat. "Please welcome _B.J. _to our classroom. Although, young man, B.J. is hardly a name which we're accustomed to. I presume you have some other name for which B.J. stands?"

The boy thought nothing of this comment, except to laugh in a way that sounded the slightest bit like a cackle. "Oh believe me, you _don't_ _want_ to know my real name!"

* * *

**A/N: I don't know on a scale of 1-10 how much of a cliffhanger this is, but this chapter has really bee content-heavy as compared to my last chapters, so I didn't want to overwhelm everyone too much. I could've split this up into two separate chapters, but then I felt as if it would take too long to get through everything and so it'd just be easier to just incorporate it into one.**

**So, once again, I hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to review/follow/favourite! :D**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Mute and The Coy

**A/N: Happy finally to get a favourite and a follow so thank you miserychick-17 for that! Again, sorry for the weekly delay, especially when I left it in a semi-cliffhanger. I hope that didn't annoy anyone too much, but I was also a bit stuck on what to write, if truth be told. You see, the reunion of Lydia and B.J. was a bit sudden in my opinion, but there were other people present so it's not as if it was just the two of them. For this chapter, it IS just the two of them and that was the hard part to narrow down just write. It's all done now and, hopefully, you will enjoy how it plays out and be able to think that "Yeah, that could definitely happen".**

**Without further ado, enjoy!~**

* * *

Chapter 5 - The Mute and the Coy

Lydia was literally on the edge of her seat, one _second_ away from yelling out his name which she knew perfectly well and then repeating it twice for a total of three times which should make him disappear for good. If she didn't, who knew just what he'd do? Because she'd stayed quiet the last time they'd met, he had trapped her father-and Delia, though admittedly Lydia had been a bit delighted at the time to see the redhead in panic-and then almost forced her into marriage! Something like that was the last thing Lydia would permit, and especially not in front of her class!

_How did he get here anyway? And _why_? _Lydia wondered, but then she shook away the thought and just focused on her first instinct. It was dangerous and there was no time for asking questions; she had to act, _now_!

"Beetle-"

Then, suddenly, just as if she'd never had a voice to begin with, the teenage girl suddenly went mute and found herself unable to make any sound whatsoever. Clutching at her mouth as if it had fallen off, her eyes widened in familiar shock at how, just like the time before the almost-wedding, the ghoul at the front of the class had magicked her into silence.

But, of course, she was the only one who even knew who he was or that he was capable of doing this. The rest of the people in the class-Mr. Wolt included-just heard the goth girl randomly shout the word "Beetle", and so they didn't assume much.

Beatrice Allistair, who was the typical cheerleader-type who just _detested_ girls like Lydia as eyesores corrupting _her_ school, gave a haughty laugh which was followed by many others. Like most of the kids there, she was raised in the local county and did _not_ take well to foreigners.

"What's the matter Deetz? Collecting bugs now, are we?"

"As if she wasn't weird enough," Lizzie-aka, Beatrice's twin sister who was _almost_ as annoying as she was-added with a snort.

Lydia rolled her eyes, barely paying attention. Even if she could've said something to defend herself, at that point she wouldn't have. After all, there were bigger problems staring her right in the face than the terrible twins.

As if to clarify every suspicion-and fear-that she had of him, the so-called "B.J." gave her a wink followed by a cocky smile, almost as if to say: "It's our secret. And even if I _did_ allow you to talk right now, what proof do you have? No one'd believe you."

Slumping back in her desk, for the next moment or two, the Deetz girl admitted defeat.

Mr. Wolt, once having gotten the class under control again, sent "B.J." to a seat in the back of the class and started the lesson.

Trying to pay attention had always been hard for Lydia before, but right now it had gotten just downright impossible. Once or twice she thought to at least try whispering to herself-to check if she still even _had_ a voice-but for some reason she felt that _he_ wouldn't take such a risk. No, for the time being, or at least until he could be certain of her shutting up and not ratting him out, he was going to keep her quiet.

_What about Adam and Barbara though?_ Lydia wondered. _They're ghosts, so they should be able to give me my voice back, right_? But, sadly, she couldn't guarantee it even to herself. Adam and Babs were ghosts alright, but they never acted much like it. They didn't like performing any "tricks" in the first place and even when they were coaxed into it they couldn't get all that creative. With regards to restoring her voice, Lydia didn't even know if they were able. Besides which, what was she going to tell them? That a certain someone was back? If so, what were they going to do about it? Grab another sand-worm along for the ride? Would that even work again? Or maybe she shouldn't tell them? But no, hadn't she told enough lies and kept enough secrets already?

_Ugh, so many questions and hardly any answers,_ Lydia thought, clutching at her head. It felt like a pop-quiz had just gone off in her brain and it was not helping her to think clearly. First thing's first, she needed to find out more about _him_ and why he was there in the first place. Maybe in the process she could somehow get him to give her voice back, though that was highly unlikely since he had absolutely _no_ reason to trust her. More so, _she_ didn't trust _him_. True, he hadn't lied to her even in the past, but after turning into a snake, almost killing her father, re-doing Otho's exorcism, trapping her parents, and almost forcing her to marry him, clearly lies weren't all that beneath his moral standards.

_Great day this is turning out to be,_ Lydia thought in her usually pessimistic way. And so, for the rest of the period, she just glumly stared out the window, wondering what on earth she was going to do to get herself out of this one.

And, behind her, at the back of the classroom, all the students seated around B.J. started to slowly inch away. For some reason or other, something in the classroom was starting to smell really _foul_...

* * *

The ten minute break between the classes after homeroom was the first opportunity Lydia thought she might get to talk to the ghoul, but it turned out she was mistaken.

Despite his unworldly looks and his rank odor, he was otherwise proving to be an interesting "freak show" for the school to enjoy and in the end even Beatrice and Lizzie gave in and crowded around him. By the way the girls were wincing and the guys looked about ready to beat him up as everyone filed back into the classroom for second period though, Lydia guessed that maybe everyone had caught on to his real character and that he wasn't going to be the "popular new kid" anytime soon.

_Figures_ she thought as everyone sat down.

This time though, to her amazement, the ghoul-boy completely ignored the seating arrangements from the previous class and sat down _right next to her_!

"Hey!" Timmy Morton, the original guy meant to be seated there, exclaimed. "You're at the back, man!"

B.J.-for all intensive purposes, let's just call him by his nickname for now-turned, eyed him up and down, and then stuck out a thin snake-like tongue at him, giving a hiss as he did so.

"Huh?!" Poor Timmy rubbed his eyes to make sure he was just seeing things, but when he eyed the intruder again he only saw a weird-looking guy who was smiling at him in a rather sly manner.

"I must be going nuts," Timmy concluded, deciding that he had best let the new student have his way and just take the seat at the back. No one else but Lydia seemed to have witnessed this sudden change.

Unlike Timmy though, Lydia wasn't afraid of him-or, at the very least, she was _trying_ not to be. Having gone over what to say-or, in her case, _write_ since she probably couldn't talk yet-she was fully prepared to confront him and demand that they have it out, whatever it was. If anything, she was going to make a promise _not_ to say his name, or at least not until she found out what everything was about. Though a practical jokester, Lydia didn't pinpoint the beetle-man as the type of person to do things at random; _everything_ had to have a reason.

Once Mrs. Picket-the French teacher-had finished taking attendance and had begun the lesson, Lydia finally scribbled something down and passed the note to B.J. Although his stench was beginning to affect her as well, she felt it was better to have him closer since it would be easier to pass notes this way.

The ghoul beside her wasn't all that surprised to be hearing from her-tee-hee-but he did give her an incredulous look. Without even looking at what she had written down, he scratched down his own message which he promptly handed back to her.

Confused, Lydia looked down and read his message:

**Aren't you taking a big risk right now? I didn't think Big Daddy's daughter would stoop so low as to break school rules.**

Her face flushing in both embarrassment and anger, Lydia quickly wrote down _exactly_ what she thought of that. She had meant to be diplomatic at first and try reasoning with the man, but clearly he was treating the whole thing as a joke! No more Miss Nice Girl from here on out!

**I wouldn't be passing notes in the first place if I could just TALK! Give me my voice back right now!**

The frustrated teenage girl hadn't expected him to do as she asked, and so it was no surprise when the only reply was: **No can do, sweetheart_._**

Rolling her eyes and giving a sigh that was more to calm herself down than anything else, Lydia wrote her reply and passed it back. And then B.J. passed it back. And then Lydia. And so on...

By nearly the end of the period, their messages on both sides of the sheet of paper were as follows:

**L: Why not? It's not like I can say your name in the middle of a French lesson anyway.**

**B: You can still whisper.**

**L: I PROMISE I won't. We still have things to talk about after this.**

**B: Oh, we wanna talk now, do we? I MIGHT consider it if you're nice to me ;)**

**L: I won't send you back to the afterlife. I just want to know why you're here.**

**B: Another interesting question. You'll have to be EXTRA nice if you want to know the answer to that one. How're the Maitlands holding up anyway?**

**L: What the-? What's their existence to YOU anyway? Last thing I remember, you couldn't care whether they lived or died. You used their situation to blackmail ME into doing what you want and in the end even that didn't work!**

**B: You sound like you wanted it to work...**

**L: EW! Are you crazy?! I was GLAD it didn't work, GLAD that you were eaten by a sand-worm, and GLAD that I never had to see you again! If anything, why are you back now anyway? And what's with the disguise? Can't show your normal face in public? It's not like any form you take will change you one bit. You're still a dirty, perverted, no-good, cheap, underrated, grueling-** (At this point he had grabbed the paper from her and thus she wasn't given a chance to finish her list of insults.)

**B: That doesn't seem too nice. Maybe you don't want your voice back after all.**

**L: You...Adam and Barbara will get me back for this. They can restore my voice at any time.**

**B: You honestly believe that? Let me tell you now, babes, I'm the ONLY ONE that can help you talk again. Just one of my many talents. Your little ghosties won't be able to lift a finger to help.**

**L: They'll get you.**

**B: How?**

**L: Like they did last time.**

**B: Cause sand-worms are easy to find and unlimited everywhere? Sweetheart, they're EXTINCT. Population went WAY down after I got back to the afterlife.**

At this point the space on the paper ran out. Lydia crumpled it out and quickly took out another sheet, managing to write just the beginning before Mrs. Picket unexpectedly showed up and tore it from her hands, attracting an audible snort from B.J. who was just beginning to enjoy himself.

"'Meet me by the Browler Bench for lunch'. Lydia, what's this?" she asked, reading the note loud and clearly for everyone to hear. It was obvious that she already knew though. "Not paying attention to the lesson, are we?" she continued, not waiting for Lydia to respond. "More so, setting a very bad example for our new student-er..."

"B.J."

"Yes, for B.J. who's just getting used to the rules of the school. Young lady, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Lydia glanced over to the other culprit, her eyes imploring him if it was alright for her to speak. Of all things she had never expected to have to ask his _permission_ for such a thing, but there was no other way in which she could defend herself.

To her surprise though, the ghoul gave a perfectly careless and inviting wave of his hand as if saying: "Alright, go ahead."

But wait, did that mean that he was letting her speak? And if so, _why_? They'd just spent the better half of the lesson arguing over that and besides which if she could speak, she could easily expose him and call out his name before he was the wiser.

_No Lydia, that's not right,_ she thought. _He's on to you and he'll _know_ if you're trying to prove anything. What's more, he can shut you up before you even say it once, just like he did last time. He was only playing with you before; he _knows_ he has power over you and he's probably enjoying every minute of it. Best to keep under cover for now..._

"Lydia?" Mrs. Picket repeated, this time a bit more harshly.

Taking a deep breath, the Deetz girl met her glare and answered as confidently as possible: "Je suis attentive, mme . Maintenant, pouvons-nous, si vous plaît, passer à la leçon ?

* * *

**A/N: For those of you who don't understand the bit of French at the bottom, it means: "I am attentive, Madame. Now, can we, if you'd please, continue the lesson?" Just thought it would make Lydia's response better to have in French as proof that she _was_ paying attention.**

**As for this entire chapter, I hope you liked it, and if you did, please don't forget to follow/favourite/review. Reviews help especially since I like to know just what people think of the story. Thank you!~**


	6. Chapter 6 - Community Service

**A/N: Sorry for the slow update this time-things got hectic around Easter and all-but now I'm back and hopefully I didn't keep anyone waiting too long. I'm glad to see that this story's getting more follows/favourites, and especially views. Thanks so much everyone, and I hope not to disappoint with the story! 3 Anyway, with that said, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6 - Community Service

As if the temporary embarrassment in class hadn't affected Lydia Deetz enough, afterwords the class was practically _flooded_ with whispers as rumors started going around about "the goth girl and her perfect match". It seemed that, seeing as all of the other girls had been thoroughly affected by B.J.'s lack of charm, they had no troubles at all with shipping him off with the one girl who didn't really fit in to any of their cliques.

"It's unfair if you ask me," Lydia muttered, not really doing much to help these rumors cease as she was seeing walking alongside the new student to lunch. It turned out that "B.J.", instead of agreeing to meet up at a private place in which Lydia hoped they would never be seen together, wanted to "spend more time and get reacquainted", thus insisting to walk with Lydia to her locker and fetch her lunch before they went on their way.

"Whaddia mean? I think we look great together," B.J. teased, although he smartly refrained from reaching his arm around the smoldering girl as a slight form of a tease; now wasn't the time to push her over the edge. In truth, his sticking to Lydia like glue didn't have anything to do with making her life miserable or just causing general turmoil; in simplest terms, he just didn't trust her _not_ to say his name out loud while he wasn't around to shut her up. After all, as proven when Adam and Barbara had released him the first time, he didn't have to be physically present at a close-range distance for the effect to work. No, if Lydia just stood up in a busy crowd and yelled out his name, it just might take him enough time to find her, thus giving her the time she needed.

He couldn't risk that.

Not that the Deetz girl had any such intention though, or at least not for the time being. Before she went on doing _anything_, she had to confirm her suspicions and find out why that maniac was back again. If possible, she would try to get rid of him, preferably before either Adam or Babs sensed his presence.

_Who knows what kind of ghostly powers they have, after all?_ Lydia thought, trying to be discrete as she fished out a plain paper bag-inside which would be one of Barbara's simple yet tasty lunches (unlike Delia's whose usually tasted of newly-developed mold, and looked _much_ worse). Slamming her locker door shut, she headed for the nearest exit which she knew would lead her to exactly the opposite end of the school than where she wanted to be, but at this point it was best just to get out and get out _fast_-more people had taken to whispering just at seeing the pair walk by.

Sitting down at a harmless lunch table right next to a trashcan-it was the only one which stood alone by itself and farthest from the school-she began to open her bag, only to stop and cringe and she noticed the rotten banana peel that B.J. had picked up out of the bin. Her appetite lost, she rolled up the paper bag again.

After watching out of the corner of her eye as her ghastly companion consumed what was assumed to be his lunch, she finally spoke up.

"So, what do you want?"

"What do I what?" He was playing coy and toying with her, but it wasn't going to work.

"What. Do. You. Want?!" Lydia was in no mood for playing games.

B.J. shrugged and rolled back his shoulders. "Thought I'd stick around and enjoy the view. Can't get too comfortable in the other life after five hundred visits to the waiting room."

"The what?"

"Skip it."

Lydia sighed. "O-K. But then how about telling me why you're here _now_. There's no way this could be just a random visit to say hello." _Especially not to me of all people,_ she mentally added, remembering what she'd almost gone through on account of him.

Sighing, the ghoul in front of her had obviously decided that it was useless to hide it. "Alright, here's the deal: before, I wanted out. Now I _need_ out, you get what I'm sayin?" Then, unexpectedly, he lifted up his right foot and placed it on the table. Lydia had no desire to know what was at the bottom of his shoes, but then he surprised her by lifting up a bit of his jean leg and revealing a rather odd looking anklet which may as well have been...

"So what?" she asked with a sniff. "You're on parole or something?" Believing that the ghoul had committed a crime-numerous crimes-whether on earth or in the afterlife wasn't exactly hard. If anything, how _wasn't_ he in some sort of jail yet?

"So's I got to get this _off_, that's what. Call it community service, babes, you-"

"Don't. Call. Me. THAT!" Lydia snarled. Just the nickname in itself brought back a bad memory or too-vividly.

He paused, obviously considering whether to bring it up again just to spite her, but then thought better of it. If he was going to have this girl's help on _anything_-and serve himself with plenty of amusement-the key thing to do was _wait_. Be patient and good things would come his way...

"Anyways, I ain't getting off for quite some time. Several thousand hours actually, and it'll take me a while to work them off. Thought I'd start with the high school life and then see where we go from there."

"'We?'" Lydia was appalled.

B.J. snarled. "That's right Lyds:_ we_. Either that or no deal."

"What do you mean 'no deal'? I'm not obliged to do anything!"

"You are if you want to be able to talk again. And believe me, that's putting it _nicely_. I could take away far worse things than just that, I hope you realize."

Lydia stared at his, aghast. "This...this is blackmail."

Winking, he grinned. "You got it."

She got it so much as a matter of fact, that it only took a second or so for it to register that the ghoul before her _would _go that far and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

_But wait, what about Babs and Adam?_ the smart girl suddenly thought. She hadn't wanted them to get involved in anything, it was true, but if they were her only choice as well as her best gamble, then...

"Tsk tsk tsk," B.J. suddenly said, wagging his finger. "I can tell what you're thinking and that's not too nice, Lyds. Do you _really_ think some bumpkin house ghosts will be enough to take _me_ on? I don't think so. Don't remember what happened last time."

No, no she hadn't forgotten. Because of her carelessness as well as their own, the Maitlands had almost been exorcised last time. More so, it was _him_ that was able to cancel out the exorcism, which suggested that he obviously had greater power than what it may seem like.

So in other words, she might have no choice.

"Come on, Lyds, don't think of it as a forced thing!" the yellow-toothed male said with a chuckle. "Think of it as doing me a good turn. I do you a good turn, you do _me_ a good turn. That's the good neighbor policy, ain't it?"

"Yeah, it's...wait a minute, what do you mean?!"

"Think I'll be taking up the attic space in the Maitland residence again," he said without barely flinched at Lydia's sharp new tone. "They won't even know I'm there, trust me."

"But _I_ would!" Lydia snapped, determined not to agree to this. Not only was it creepy, but she was _scared_; scared of what could and would happen to her with that ghoul in the house at night...

Rolling his eyes, B.J. sighed. "Relax, I won't do anything. And hey, if I do, I'll let ya say my name. _Maybe_. It all depends on how well we get along, ya see."

"What if I say it right now?" Lydia baited defiantly. "Or what if I say it at just some random point? No stopping me then."

Shaking his head, he laughed. "Don't even try it. Firstly, I'll shut you up before you do; secondly it won't work cause of this thing I've got on me, but I'll explain that later; and thirdly, you don't want to know what I'll do to you if you even try!" The last part wasn't a threat; it was a promise.

Sighing heavily, Lydia tried to collect her thoughts, praying she wouldn't go insane in the process. It was obvious that she had no choice, but no Deetz liked to be backed into a corner like this. In one way or another, she was trying to convince herself of how to look at this in a positive light.

Obviously, no immediate ideas came to mind. The only thing she could come up with-after the lunch bell had rang and she and B.J. were considerably late for their next class-was that at least, if he was there for community service like he _said_, then there shouldn't be any harm in it.

"Alright," she sighed at last, seeing that there was no alternative. "I'll help you."

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, so now we've got them back together as a team, eh? We'll see where things go from here...**

**Please remember to review/follow/favourite! 3~**


	7. Chapter 7 - I Got A Type

**A/N: A lot happening in the last chapter, I know, and sadly-or happily, whichever way you wanna consider it-there's not a lot going on in this chapter. It's kind of just a transaction chapter, but I can promise BIG things coming on in the next chapter. Now that Lydia and B.J. are finally on the same side, as promised you can expect some crazy things to start happening, so enjoy. Also, for those of you who are missing any of the other characters' interactions with our main character, just remember that his appearance is supposed to be kept secret-for now-and since the story's focusing on him, that's why other characters like Barbara and Adam are less prominent. Hopefully no one's too put off by that.**

**Anyways, without further ado, here is another chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 7 - I Got A Type

"So you're supposed to be helping people, right?" Lydia asked. The rest of the day-after their lunchtime conversation-had passed by in a flash and now she and the new student were headed the same way home. The intelligent Deetz girl warned the ghoul that it would be best that he keep out of sight of her normal and ghostly guardians, but he was only too happy to oblige without having to be told.

"Last time I was around those guys, I got eaten by a sand-worm, remember?" he said with a scoff when she had first brought it up. "Like I'm gonna make _that_ mistake again." Honestly though, B.J. had pegged down his premature defeat last time to his wrong opinion of the Maitlands. He had underestimated them, got too cocky with his own supernatural superiority, and as a result had let his guard down just _way_ too much. Of course it didn't help that he'd wanted to do things the conventional way by having Charles and Delia Deetz witness their daughter getting married, because that could have been another mistake well avoided.

_She does realize I could'a just zapped us anywhere else on the planet, right? Or even better, in the Underworld would've been good,_ he thought, reflecting over his poor choices of the past. No more mistakes for this beetle-man; not anymore.

"That's right," B.J. replied, in response to Lydia's first question about having to help people. "You catch on fast, Lyds. Helpin people is my new mo-jo right now."

Lydia had no idea what that meant, but she supposed it was his way of saying that he had no choice so he might as well.

Clearing her throat, she pretended to be occupied with shuffling her bag from one shoulder to the other; it just looked dorky carrying it on both shoulders, so unlike the country kids Lydia stuck to the city-way and tried to look as indifferent and as aloof as possible with regards to her schoolwork-which wasn't far from the truth, incidentally.

"Well you won't be able to help people much with _that_ getup," she said, pausing to cringe her nose at his stench for extra effect. "If you're so good at changing your appearance and whatnot, why not change into something more _appealing_ to the general audience? Or Christ, at least take a bath!"

The pale teen at her side sniffed indignantly. "You ain't worth a cent if you can't handle the juice," he said at last. "Listen Ba"-he paused, noticing the suddenly apprehensive expression on the young girl's face-"down in the other place, I've got women on me day and night. Can't get away really, and this is the kind of stuff that turns 'em on. Think I'm gonna change all that?"

Lydia tried to keep from gagging. "Yes, but it's _disgusting_ to humans who aren't used to it! Come on, at least change the smell. I don't think people would mind the rest so much."

The ghoul rolled his eyes. "If it'll shut your yap, then I guess I can manage."

Cracking his knuckles, though really he could've done such a simple thing with his eyes closed, B.J. abruptly banished the smell from his person, smelling all of a sudden of something fresh and minty. Much better than before, to say the least. Lydia even managed a small smile of relief, though she did well to keep it hidden.

"Better how?" he asked, turning to face her.

Lydia refrained from nodding-she didn't want to encourage his scandalous behaviour too much. "Well, at the very least you won't scare off Beatrice Allistair and her posse anymore."

B.J. furrowed his brow in confusion. "Who?"

His companion stopped and frowned. "Beatrice Allistair? The A-class, blonde-wannabe cheerleader who was the very first to crowd around you...and _then_ run away? She must've made up at least five new phrases to describe you."

He shrugged. "Never heard of her or seen her. Must'a been someone I overlooked."

Rolling her eyes, Lydia continued her slow walk. "I don't get why. She might be just your type. Perfect figure, pretty face, and just about everything else a guy would want."

Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, B.J. couldn't help but smirk. "You jealous of her?"

"Me? No."

"You sure?"

"She's the polar opposite of me. I hate her obviously, but I'm not jealous of her. If anything, she might be jealous of me, but only cause of my dad's money. She's always saying that his millions of dollars should have been enough to fix my 'shadowy existence' into something 'remotely human', but then again she guesses that I'm just too low to be fixed."

"Sounds harsh."

Lydia shrugged. "I can deal with it. People like Beatrice are easy to ignore."

"Probably why I missed her, in that case."

Lydia was almost 100% certain that they'd closed the subject by this point, but just as they were nearing the gate to the Maitland-Deetz property, the ghoul suddenly spoke up again, right before disappearing on her.

"Oh and Lyds, I got a type, just so's you know. And believe me, _you're_ the closest that's ever gonna get to my type, so keep that in mind next time that twerp starts botherin ya."

And then, without so much as a poof, sizzle, or any other noise, he was gone.

Leaving Lydia open-mouthed and gaping like an idiot. It might've been better at that point if he'd just made a direct pass at her, but then again that might not be his way...

No, definitely _not_.

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**A/N: Sorry that it's so short, but, like I said, this is just a transition chapter. I added in something like this because rather than have the plot go on and on and on with tons of things happening, I figured why not get some character development, dialogue, and a bit of fluff in here as well. Not exactly the most obvious fluff of course, but since when would Tim Burton approve of that?**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review/follow/favourite! Thank you! 3**


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